


Last One to Know

by Fiddle_Faddle



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Attempted Matchmaking, Becomes Mutual, Crush, Family Dynamics, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Hugs, Humor, M/M, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, minor misunderstanding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:40:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23705515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiddle_Faddle/pseuds/Fiddle_Faddle
Summary: Damian's opinion of Tim Drake had gone through many complex transformations over the eight years he had known him. As a child he hated Tim, but as he grew older he came to respect him. When that respect turned into attraction, he tried to keep his feelings to himself, but his nosy family saw through him all too easily.
Relationships: Damian Wayne & his family, Tim Drake/Damian Wayne
Comments: 26
Kudos: 289





	Last One to Know

Damian's opinion of Tim Drake had gone through many complex transformations over the eight years he had known him.

When Damian was ten years old, he looked at Tim and saw a rival, someone who stood in his way, an unworthy usurper of his birth right. At twelve years old, Damian looked at Tim and saw someone he begrudgingly admitted had maybe earned his place. Maybe. At fourteen years old, Damian looked at Tim and saw someone who's approval he longed to earn. At sixteen years old, Damian looked at Tim and saw someone who made his heart race, his blood pound, his palms sweaty (and other cliche things he was disgusted with himself for). 

Finally, at eighteen years old, Damian looked at Tim and saw someone who was clever, quick witted, dedicated… beautiful. He saw the love of his life. 

Unfortunately, Tim looked at Damian and saw nothing. 

It was also rather unfortunate that he could not say the same of the rest of his family. They all saw through him too well, quickly picking up on his change of feelings for Tim. They wouldn't even offer him the courtesy of keeping it to themselves. 

Cass was the first one to know. Of course.

Damian suspected that she had known even before he did, but she allowed him to come to the realization himself. She had always been good about pushing when Damian needed pushing and backing off when Damian needed time. Had she pushed him when he was still in the denial stage, he probably would have done something rash and cruel to prove he didn't care about Tim. Something he would have regretted.

It wasn't until Damian was well into the acceptance stage that Cass finally confronted him. 

"My advice, jump him."

Damian blinked, then put down the apple he had been eating, alone in the Batcave, before Cass had showed up. "Excuse me? Who are we talking about?"

"Tim," she said, like it was obvious. 

"You think I should attack Drake." Damian deadpanned.

Cass crossed her arms over her chest, shooting Damian a stern look. "Not what I meant. You know that."

Damian tried to brush her off. "Tt. I think you need to get your head checked. Call Pennyworth down here."

Cass just rolled her eyes at him like he was the one speaking nonsense. "You want Tim. Be direct."

Damian's brows furrowed. He didn't even try to deny his feelings for Tim; it was Cass, there was no point. "You cannot be serious. You really think I should just, what? Throw myself at him?" When Cass just nodded, Damian shook his head. "I think not. I would like to keep my dignity intact."

"That's my advice. Take it or leave it."

"I'll pass."

Cass just shrugged like she had anticipated that. "Fine. Waste time." She turned to leave. 

"Wait!" Damian panicked. "You're not going to tell him are you?"

"No." Cass huffed. "It's up to you."

Damian sighed in relief and tried to put the conversation behind him. 

However, when Tim came into the cave later that day, Damian's mind helpfully provided all the ways he could have taken Cass's advice. In the locker room, on the mats, up against a stalagmite. He had to quash a particularly vivid image, of pulling Tim on top of him in the computer chair, when Tim had looked over at him and asked if he was alright. 

No. No, he was not alright. 

Dick was the second one to know. Mostly on accident. 

He knew something had been up with Damian. There had been a notable uptick in the teen angst pouring from him and he was bound and determined to find out why. What he discovered was shocking. 

Damian had a crush. 

Dick could sense it from a mile away. The increased wistful sighing, the staring moodily out of windows, the sad love songs he wouldn't admit to listening to, the habit of locking himself in his room for hours at a time. It all fit. The question was: who did he have a crush on? 

That was proving to be quite a difficult question to answer. Damian wasn't acting differently around anyone that Dick could tell. He still butted heads with Jason and Stephanie, begrudgingly respected Cass and Barbara, had a cease-fire with Tim, and was friendly - for him - with Colin and Jon. Dick would have worried that Damian's crush was on him, but he still treated him like nothing other than an older brother, to Dick's quiet relief.

He was going crazy trying to figure it out, until a run in with Poison Ivy had Damian drugged up and blurting out his desires for Dick to hear. 

"Tim, Tim…" Damian slurred, eyes glazed over and half-lidded. "Let me go, I need- I need to see Tim."

"I don't think so, Romeo." Dick said, struggling to keep Damian upright as he half-dragged him to the Batmobile. It was lucky for Damian that Dick was filling in as Batman while Bruce was out of town. Damian would not have wanted his father to see him in such a state. Or to hear what he was saying. 

Lucky for him, the comms were off, too.

They made it back to the Batcave without incident. Dick double, triple, checked that Tim was occupied elsewhere for the night. One blood test and anti-toxin later, Damian was back in business. And horribly embarrassed. 

"So, Tim huh?" Dick asked, waggling his eyebrows. 

Damian groaned, burying his face in his hands. 

"Hey! None of that." Dick gently pulled Damian's hands away from his face to look him in the eye. "I'm not making fun. I promise. I think it's great that you've come to care about him."

"You think it's great that I care for someone who doesn't care for me?" Damian asked, tone low and incredulous.

"You don't know that. If your feelings have changed, his could have, too. I'm sure I could find out-"

"Don't you dare, Grayson. Promise me you will leave this alone."

"Damian…"

"Promise me!"

Dick sighed. "Fine. I promise. But I really think you should let me help."

"I do not need help with this." Damian scoffed. "I need this left alone until it dies a slow, agonizing death."

"Yeah? How's that been going?"

Damian didn't answer. 

After that incident, Damian was too embarrassed to even look in Tim's direction. Every time he saw him, the memory of the overwhelming desire that Ivy's toxin had created in him filled his mind. He started to avoid Tim as much as possible. He needed some space. Or else he was afraid that if he spent too much time near Tim, he'd end up losing his head completely and doing something ill advised, something that would make Tim uncomfortable. 

Regardless of how confident Cass was, Damian knew Tim would not welcome his attention. He had overheard Tim talking on the phone once, telling the clone that he had no interest in ever dating another Bat again.

Damian may not be a perfect person, but he would respect Tim's wishes, despite his own feelings.

Jason was the third one to know. And he was an asshole about it. 

"Just what, pray tell, are you snooping around for?" Damian asked, leaning up against the doorway to his room. 

"Blackmail." Jason answered simply. "And lookie what I found." He waved one of Damian's sketchbooks around. "Got a lotta drawings of the Replacement in here, huh?" Jason asked, an amused smirk plastered on his face. 

Damian bristled. "So? I have drawn all the members of this family."

"Sure, sure. But have you drawn all of them like one of your French girls?" Jason turned the page he was looking at around to reveal a drawing of Tim, half naked, stretching on the mats in the cave. 

Damian snatched the sketchbook out of Jason's hand, blushing furiously. "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing big. My case took a slightly unpleasant turn. Just need someone to go searching through the sewers for me."

Damian groaned. No one liked sewer duty. "And you won't tell Tim or anyone else what you found? Won't even imply it, or hint at it in any way?"

Jason hummed in agreement. "My lips are sealed."

"Fine." Damian sighed. "But I'll get you for this, you realize."

Jason grinned. "Lookin' forward to it." Then he turned more sincere. "Y'know, if you ever butch up and confess your undying love to him? I think you two would make a cute couple."

Damian threw the sketchbook at Jason's head. Jason dodged and hopped out the window, laughing as he went. "I'll send you the case details!"

Damian flopped onto his bed, burying his face in the pillows. Jason would stay true to his word, there was no doubt about that, but that didn't mean he wouldn't mock Damian relentlessly for a long, long time. And now he had to go wading through the sewers. He should have made not mocking him part of the deal, too. 

Alfred was the fourth one to know. Or at least make it known that he knew (Damian suspected that he knew for almost as long as Cass).

It started subtly.

"Master Timothy will be arriving in ten minutes." "Master Timothy is downstairs." "Master Timothy will be departing soon, should you want to wish him farewell."

Then became more blatant.

"I believe Master Timothy would know the answer to that." "Would you be a dear and find Master Timothy for me?" "Those are Master Timothy's favorite."

Damian tried to ignore it, tried to convince himself it was just a coincidence that he was reading too much into, but he could only lie to himself for so long. 

"Ah, Master Damian. If you would be so kind as to run this down to Master Timothy."

Damian sighed. "Alright, enough Pennyworth. I get it. Message received."

"I dare say I don't know what you are referring to."

"Master Timothy this, Master Timothy that. I'm onto you. And you're wasting your energy."

Alfred leveled Damian with a piercing look. "Damian, I have watched both you and Tim grow and change these past several years. I have seen you through your highs and lows. And if you think, for even one second, that my hopes for the two of you to find happiness together are a waste of energy, then I have failed not only you, but also my duty to serve this family."

Damian blinked, could only nod dumbly in response, taken aback by Alfred's heartfelt speech. 

Alfred smiled. "Now, if you would be so kind and take this to Master Timothy."

Damian nodded again, not trusting himself to speak. 

Stephanie was the fifth one to know. The most dangerous, due to her status as Tim's closest friend. 

"What's the haps, baby bat?" She asked, throwing an arm around Damian's shoulder. 

Damian shrugged her off. "Tt. Your slang is atrocious, as always."

"Hey, someone has to broaden your mind and it might as well be me."

"If that is your idea of broadening my mind, I'd hate to see what your idea of rotting it would be."

Stephanie laughed. "Speaking of rotting minds. Come on, it's bonding time! Tim and I are gonna see a shitty action movie and you are coming with, my dude."

"What? With Tim?" Damian blurted out, lacking his usual poise as he always seemed to do when Tim was involved. "No. I- I can't." A dark room with Tim close by? Not conducive to Damian's mental health in any way, shape, or form. 

"Why not? I thought you were getting along with Tim now." Stephanie said, looking disappointed. 

And, damn it, when did she learn that disappointed looks were his weakness? "Our relationship is faring just fine. I simply do not wish to see him, right now. That is all."

"Wow...” Stephanie said. “Did something embarrassing happen? Did you fall over in front of him? Miss an easy batarang throw? Get got by Scarecrow or Ivy and reveal deep dark secrets?"

Damian couldn't help the slight wince that scrunched up his face at Stephanie's mention of Ivy. His heart contracted at the memory of the all encompassing desire to find Tim and just _be near him._ To touch him. To hold him and be held by him. The feeling that nothing else in the world mattered except for _him_.

Stephanie's eyes widened in a way that would be comical if Damian's aforementioned deep dark secrets weren't involved. 

"Oh! Well Tim won't mock you for it. He's had his own run-ins with Ivy. It's not like it was about him-" Stephanie broke off in shock when Damian looked away from her, unable to meet her eyes anymore. "Oh my God… it was about him. Damian, do you have a crush on Tim?" Stephanie grew more and more excited as she spoke, practically bouncing up and down. 

"Hell's bells, this family is full of nosy busybodies." Damian grumbled. 

"Don't be like that. Come on, we need to come up with a game plan."

"For what?" Damian was afraid to ask.

"For getting you and Tim together, duh!"

"No. Absolutely not." Damian shook his head, vehemently. 

"What? Why not?"

"Because I don't want him to know." Then, at Stephanie's mutinous look, Damian added, "And if you don't want me to tell him about the time you 'borrowed' his car, you won't go behind my back and tell him, either." He wasn't in the habit of taking leaves out of Jason's book, but he also wasn't above using a little blackmail, himself. Especially in such a precarious situation. 

Stephanie huffed. "Fine, deny yourself an opportunity for happiness."

"Optimistic nonsense." Damian scoffed. "The only thing that would result from Drake finding out is awkwardness and discomfort."

"Damian, I've known Tim for like, a decade. Believe me when I tell you a little amount of awkwardness is to be expected every once in a while. He's pretty good at pushing through it though. So if that's what you're afraid of, don't be." Stephanie smiled what she clearly hoped was a reassuring smile. 

Damian just shook his head, unwilling to discuss it further. 

Barbara was the sixth one to know. The one Damian, foolishly, hadn't even considered might find out. 

As he crouched on a gargoyle, surveying the street below, the distinctive sound of his comm crackling to life filled his ear. 

"He's down by the docks, if you wanted to know."

Damian stiffened minutely. "I have no idea who you're talking about."

"Uh huh. Sure thing, lover boy."

"Dammit, N." Damian muttered. "He told you?"

"Please, who do you take me for? I'm not an idiot. You've been very carefully avoiding RR on patrol for exactly three months now. You two haven't gotten into any fights lately, so it must be a different reason entirely. And three months ago you had a run in with Ivy. You're not as sneaky as you think you are." At Damian's horrified silence, Barbara was quick to add, "But don't worry, Tim hasn't realized. He can be a bit dense when it comes to this kind of thing, and I won’t tell him."

Damian sighed in resignation. "Yes, it would seem so. Does everyone know at this point, except for him?"

"Mostly. Pretty sure B doesn't know, though. So good luck with that."

Damian groaned. "I am unsure which would be worse, Father or RR finding out."

"Oh, B for sure. He'll try to give you the talk again."

Damian shuddered.

Bruce was the seventh one to know. The last person other than Tim himself. 

When it came to his children, Bruce excelled at denial. Usually that meant denying _them_ something. 

"No, you can't borrow the Batmobile." "No, we are not converting the east billiard room into a bowling alley." "No, you can't go to Vegas with the Titans, you're fourteen."

But sometimes that also meant he refused to accept certain painful truths, often related to the fact that they were growing up, all of them technically adults. He still considered the Manor to be home to all of them, rooms kept ready and waiting, even though they all had their own apartments - except Damian. When they were staying at the Manor, he still checked in on them at night to make sure they were in their rooms, still breathing. He still nagged them about eating and sleeping habits, as well as dressing appropriately for the weather. 

The one thing he did not meddle in, however, was their romantic relationships. Considering his own failures and bad luck in that arena, he figured that was for the best. (Bruce had finally come to accept that the single life was best for him. He had his kids, he had Alfred, he was more than satisfied with that). So, he had vowed long ago, to not get involved unless it seemed like they were in danger. 

He found himself quite grateful for this vow when he suspected something might have been going on with Damian. Sometime after Bruce had returned from a long trip, he noticed that Damian seemed a little out of sorts. Not enough to be obvious, but there if you looked closely. It didn't take the World's Greatest Detective to quickly realize it had something to do with Tim. Damian was clearly avoiding him, and Bruce was worried that their relationship had taken a backslide. The two of them had been getting along rather well, the past couple years, and it would have been such a shame if they lost all that progress. 

Upon closer investigation, however, Bruce realized he was wrong. Oh, so very wrong. Whenever Damian couldn't avoid Tim, he wasn't looking at him in anger or hatred. No, instead he was avoiding Tim's gaze; Tim, who clearly had no idea why. And whenever Damian was sure that Tim was engaged elsewhere, his eyes would wander over to him, looking… longing? 

Oh. Oh _no_ , that couldn't be right. Damian couldn't _possibly_ … 

Bruce just must not have gotten as much sleep as he thought. He would have to have another cup of coffee and revisit this later, much later. Maybe in five years. Or maybe never. Never sounded good. Though, it wouldn't hurt to go over his sex education talk with Damian again, for unrelated reasons. 

Tim was the last one to know. And he was confused as hell. 

Everyone had been acting really strange. Dick had been looking at him sadly, Jason had been looking at him like he found something funny, Stephanie was looking at him like he'd missed something obvious. Even Bruce was giving him odd looks. It was driving him up the wall.

Weirdest of all was Damian. He was clearly avoiding Tim for some reason or other. Alfred obviously knew that reason and disapproved as he kept sending Damian on little errands that forced him to interact with Tim. But for the life of him, Tim couldn't figure it out. They hadn't argued recently, hadn't really even fought since Damian was a preteen. He'd even go so far as to say that in the past few years they had become sort of friends. Or something like it, anyway. So, why did things change? 

The fact that Damian was avoiding him wouldn't have rankled so much if Tim just knew _why_. He never had been one to leave well enough alone, no matter how it might bite him in the ass. 

Trying to figure it out from outside sources wasn't working. Anytime he asked, everyone would pretend (badly) to not know what he was talking about, then change the subject. Except Jason. Jason would laugh and say Tim should figure it out for himself. Well, Tim would have to do just that. It was time for him to suck it up and ask Damian directly, even if he might end up making things worse. He'd just have to cross his fingers and hope for the best. 

Tim decided to corner Damian after patrol the next opportunity he got. It was always the best time to have a potentially risky conversion. If he timed it just right, no one would be around to interrupt and if it went south, Tim could jump on his bike and head back to the theater house. It was also neutral enough territory that Damian wouldn't feel trapped; he could always retreat upstairs or hop on his own bike. Giving Damian the option to bow out at any time would hopefully come off non-threatening enough that Damian wouldn't get overly defensive. 

When Tim saw Damian's bike pull up on the security feed at just past four in the morning - last one in from patrol, everyone else gone to bed - he saved what he'd been working on, put his phone away, and headed down into the Cave. Damian was leaving the locker room, changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt, when Tim made it down. 

"Drake." Damian looked startled for a moment before pulling himself back together. "You're still here."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you." Tim stepped forward and dove in head first. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No," Damian's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why would you think that?"

Tim raised an eyebrow. "Maybe the fact that you've been avoiding me lately?"

"Oh, that." Damian glanced away. "Look, don't worry about it."

"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Tim said, waving the thought aside. "You can tell me what's wrong, you know. I'm not gonna judge you or hate you or whatever it is you think I'm gonna do."

"I'll pass on the heart-to-heart. Can we not just go back to hating each other?"

Tim shook his head. "That's not what you want, though. You're not acting like you did when you hated me, you're just avoiding me."

Damian folded his arms over his chest. "I could fix that," he said, gruff and defensive in a way he _hadn't_ been around Tim, not in a long time. 

"Or instead, you could _not_ do that." Tim ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. This wasn’t working at all. "Look, fine. You don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to. We could just move past whatever it is and start over."

Damian blinked. "Really…? You would just… let it go? Without finding out what happened? You, a man with an almost compulsive need to know everything, would let me keep a secret that involves you?"

"Yeah, Damian, if that's what it takes to get you to stop avoiding me." Tim said. He probably wouldn't be able to let go of it fully. He'd always be slightly curious as to what had happened, but he could ignore it if Damian stopped ignoring _him_. "You said I didn't do anything to upset you and I believe you. I think you've gained enough of my trust these past couple years to let this one slide." Tim smiled at Damian. "So, do we have a deal?"

Damian just stared at him like he was dumbstruck for a minute, eyes wide and searching. That was okay, Tim could give him time to process. But then, before Tim even knew what was happening, Damian suddenly leaned down and kissed him. 

Tim froze up, his body froze, his brain froze. He could give Mister Freeze a run for his money, he was so frozen. Damian was kissing him (What? _What?_ ). Tim should have probably done something about that, but before he could thaw out enough to move, Damian's (surprisingly soft) lips were pulling away. The two of them looked at each other for a moment, Tim still frozen, before Damian turned and sprinted up the stairs and out of the Cave.

What… the fuck? 

"Go after him."

Tim jolted at the voice coming from behind him, the ice he'd been encased in finally shattering; he turned to find Cass leaning against a stalagmite, looking at him. "Christ. How long have you been there? I thought you went to bed?"

Cass just shrugged, "Long enough."

"Then can _you_ tell me what the hell just happened?" Tim jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, at where Damian used to be. "Cause I think I might have actually lost it, for real this time."

Cass rolled her eyes at his dramatics. "Damian kissed you." She said, like she was speaking to a kindergartner. "And you should go kiss him back."

Tim stared at her in open disbelief. "I have lost it," he whispered. "There is no way Damian just kissed me and you are encouraging me to go kiss him. Unless… are the two of you possessed? Mind controlled?"

"You believe possession, rather than Damian having feelings for you?" Cass asked, an eyebrow raised in doubt.

"Yes." Tim nodded. 

"Tim. You are shocked. Not angry, or annoyed, or, or-" she thought for a second. "Or unapproving."

"Disapproving." Tim corrected, automatically. 

"Think about it. Be mindful of your feelings."

"I shoulda never let you watch Star Wars," Tim muttered just to be contrary, but did as she said. 

Damian kissed him. Had _feelings_ for him, apparently. The shock was starting to wear off, but he still found it kind of hard to believe. Though, at least that explained why everyone had been so weird lately. So, the question was, what did Tim feel for Damian? His first instinct was to answer with 'nothing' but he knew that wasn't true. They had a complicated history, there were a lot of feelings there. But were any of them romantic? He'd never even considered it before, so he didn't think so. But… maybe… 

Maybe he could feel that way. He really had started to like Damian more as he had gotten older, and less murderous. He was still a snarky little brat at times, but it was no longer malicious. It was honestly amusing more than anything else. It had bothered Tim so much that Damian was avoiding him partially because he kinda missed him. He suddenly found himself thinking of the kiss again, of Damian's lips, soft and full, against his own. His heart rate picked up and oh… okay.

The dawning realization must have been obvious because Cass was smiling. "Go," she said. And he listened. 

Curled up behind his favorite tree on the manor grounds, Damian cursed his own rashness. He had just gone and ruined everything. What the hell had possessed him to do that? All he knew was that Tim had said he trusted him, his pretty face completely open and sincere, and Damian had lost his head. Tim was an idiot, and a saint, for trusting him. Some part of Damian - that was always going to self-sabotage - just had to go and ruin it. Though, he supposed, Tim was going to be the one avoiding _him_ now. At least he wouldn't have to suffer the torturous presence of the man he loved, but didn't love him back.

Footsteps in the grass broke him out of his miserable musing; he whipped his head up to see Tim walking toward him. Scrambling and panicked, Damian pulled himself off the ground, fully intending to make a break for it, if necessary. He tried to steel himself for whatever rejection was coming, only to find himself pushed back against the tree. Hands grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him down into a demanding kiss.

He was too surprised to respond at first, could barely believe what was happening, until Tim's tongue swiped along his bottom lip. Then he was opening his mouth, letting Tim in. His hands moved to Tim's waist, pulling him in closer as their lips slid together. 

He was flushed and panting by the time Tim pulled away, smiling his pretty smile at Damian. 

"Now, wasn't there something you wanted to tell me?" 

"But-" Damian swallowed. "But you said you weren't interested in dating another Bat?"

Tim's brows furrowed in confusion, then shot up. "Were you eavesdropping when I was on the phone with Kon?"

Damian looked contrite. "I hadn't meant to, I just overheard."

"Uh huh. Well, for your information, I was _exaggerating_ , you idiot. Kon was convinced that Steph and I were getting back together and I wanted him to shut up."

Damian blushed, muttering, "How was I supposed to know that?"

"It wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't been spying on me." Tim teased.

"I was not-"

Tim shushed him, reaching out to caress his face. "I know. It's okay."

Damian leaned into the touch. "Then, you're okay with dating me?"

Tim nodded. "I can't promise you anything, but I'm willing to give this a try."

Damian smiled and leaned back in to kiss Tim. That was more than he could ask for, more than he could ever hope to get. 

When rain started pouring down, the two of them pulled apart and trudged their way back inside. They stepped into the kitchen together, hand in hand, and immediately halted in their tracks. Everyone was in there, even Barbara was on someone's laptop screen. For a moment it was quieter than that group of people had ever been. Then, all at once, pandemonium. 

"Hell yeah!" Stephanie fist pumped.

"About time," Barbara said with a small smile. 

"Congrats," Dick practically squealed in excitement, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. 

Alfred dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief. "Master Tim, Master Damian. I am so happy for you two."

Jason stepped forward and clasped them both on the shoulder. "Since you're both here, I can do this in one go. Tim, you hurt Damian, I hurt you. Damian, you hurt Tim, I hurt you." With a parting pat on the shoulder, Jason let them go and stepped back. 

Cass, standing off to the side and looking smug, was clearly the ringleader of this little circus. Tim, overwhelmed at all the attention, sent her a betrayed look. "You're the worst." Cass just grinned. 

Bruce cleared his throat. The room went dead silent again. Damian looked up at his father, wary, uncertain how he would react. He usually stayed out of his kids' love lives, but maybe he would disapprove this time. Tim, sensing his nervousness, squeezed his hand reassuringly. 

"Tim, Damian." Bruce looked them in the eye, one at a time. "Be good to each other." He said it like an order, a threat, and approval all rolled into one. And that was that. 

Bruce moved forward and pulled the both of them into his arms, squeezing them tightly. Damian hesitated briefly, before returning the rare hug, and felt Tim do the same next to him. 

"Group hug!" Dick shouted.

"No! Wait-" Tim started, but was cut off when Dick launched himself at them, followed quickly by Steph and Cass. Tim groaned at the impact, Damian gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, and Bruce grunted in displeasure. 

"C'mon, Alfie." Jason said, urging the stoic old butler into joining, and added his own crushing weight to the mix. 

"Sorry you can't join, Babs." Dick said, sounding muffled. 

"Trust me, I'm fine where I am." She assured him, looking on in amusement from the safety of her own home. 

In the middle of that whole mess, Damian sought out Tim's gaze. When he caught it, Tim smiled, rolling his eyes at the antics of their family. Damian smiled back. Maybe his family was full of nosy busybodies, but now that he had Tim at his side, he couldn't find it in himself to care anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated! (Especially in these trying times).


End file.
